The Helwig Family of Five: Happy 2nd Birthday Claire!!!

This last month has been so hectic and crazy between having a newborn and two other small children, and then adding the holidays and birthdays to the mix! Since Thanksgiving we have been adjusting to becoming a family of 5. Maya and Claire are absolutely in love with their little sister! We have affectionately nicknamed Amelia "Mimi" Maya adores her and if Amelia starts crying she tells her "Don't worry baby Mimi, Mommy is right here, and I'm here too!" then she will start to sing twinkle twinkle little star to try to help her calm down. She is very gentle and loves to give her lots of kisses and acts amazed when Amelia reaches out and holds onto Maya's finger. She is very protective and when I have to suction out Amelia's nose and she cries, Maya gets very upset at me and tries to physically stop me and says "Mommy, don't do that to my sister!!!!!" Claire is a different story altogether! She comes up to Mimi, the little tornado that she is, has no awareness of her body at all, but when I tell her to be gentle or talk more softly she does a GREAT job of listening to me! Her favorite phrases about Mimi include "Mommy, baby Mimi YOOK ME!" (Looking at me haha), "Mommy, baby CWYIN!" "Mommy, baby Mimi eat boobies?" and "Mommy baby Mimi?" wanting to know where she is at all times. She is always ready to give a full report on baby Mimi and what she is doing. She loves to tickle Amelia, play with her feet and hands and likes to rub her head and kiss her very gently! She has tried to pick her up which totally freaks me out but she really thinks that Mimi is her little baby and she is a little mommy. She loves to sit on the edge of my knee when I am nursing Mimi and pat her back or hold her hand and watch her eat. This is a special time for us and I always let her join us. I have only had the 3 girls alone a few days by myself and it is pretty hard especially when I need to get Maya to school. One day was really bad and Amelia cried the whole time in the car when I had to drop Maya off and I was crying and then when we got home Claire was so tired for her nap and she was crying but I had to nurse the baby and it was so frustrating because I felt like I couldn't give anyone what they needed. Its getting a lot easier as I'm learning more about Amelia's signs and she gets more on a schedule.

We had Claire's birthday party with her little friends at Gymboree and we had a great time! It was the perfect place. I made homemade pizza and cupcakes for the event (lots of work for Claire's allergies!) She had such a great time and it is so fun to see all the kids run around together. I think she felt really special!

This weekend Great Nana, Nana, Pop pop, Auntie Erin, Uncle John, and baby Will all came into town to celebrate an early Christmas. It was really really a great time. The girls adored baby Will and he did a lot of practicing walking trying to chase around his cousins. We went to the museum center one day and Will loved watching the trains, watching his cousins ride the big train and playing in the toddler part of the little sprouts farm. Claire hung out with baby Will. Maya was all about the water tables and the ball area. We got a membership to the museum center and I'm hoping its going to be a really fun thing for the girls to do!

Friday night we had a family party for Claire and again she was so excited when everyone sang to her and she got to have cake yet again! Maya was a little upset that Claire got to open so many presents but overall handled it pretty well after I talked to her about it.

Saturday we had family pictures taken by my friend Bridget and then at noon, SANTA came to visit our house! Luckily I kept the video camera rolling the WHOLE weekend. I took video the whole time Santa was there and Maya had a field day with him. After getting over the inital shyness, Maya grabbed his hand and led him around the entire house and they all ended up playing in the basement with the blocks and Mr. Potato heads for about a half hour. Bryan loved it when Santa said "Ho ho ho, my Mr. Potato Head's arm fell off!" It was an absolutely unforgettable day!

I'm so proud of Claire and all the progress she is making with her speech. She really communicates well with all of us, but if we don't understand then Maya can interpret for us! The other day she was like "Mom, she wants Grape juice!!!" Like Duh Mom! She is a little stinker and doesn't ever listen to us though. We say her name over and over and she just ignores us, so that is one thing we try to work on. Both girls do a sticker chart to try to enforce the good behaviors that we want, but the things that motivate Maya don't seem to be the same things that motivate Claire. Since we have figured out all the allergies, Claire has definitely put on some weight. She feels a lot heavier to me and looks chubbier too! Maya and Claire love to play chase and they will ask eachother to chase! Lately they are loving the Just Dance Kids on the Wii and we play that everyday... its especially great when I have to give Mimi some attention and to kill time during a long day in the house!

Amelia went in for her 1 month appt this week. She is already smiling at us at 4 wks old and we think even earlier! She loves to hear voices singing, talking, or reading. She weighs 10 lbs 10 oz already and has gained 3 lbs in her first 4 wks! She loves to eat and will stay at the breast for extended periods. She loves her Mama! She is much like Claire and really enjoys her tummy time too and can fall asleep like this easily! I can't believe how big she is already. I'm so proud of my 3 girls!!!

Today was Claire's actual birthday. We gave her presents this morning, she got a mouse house to play with in her room with a baby mouse kit too. She loved playing with it while I made breakfast. Then we took the girls to recreation outlet and Claire wore her birthday girl outfit. She had fun running everywhere and Maya chase everyone while pretending to be a dragon. WE had no food in the house after the company this weekend so we went to Red Robin for lunch at Claire's request. It was an amazingly easy time with the 3 girls because Mimi slept the whole time. Claire had an all around awesome birthday and I think she was really happy!

Yesterday was Maya's last day of school and I was responsible for the game at her holiday party. It was so fun seeing her at school. Bryan decided since he had leftover wood he wanted to make a wooden snowman for her party since I was planning on playing "pin the nose on the snowman" with the kids. He sawed out the snowman and all the parts and then he and Maya painted everything. It was such a great project for them to do together. As soon as Maya saw me she said "Mommy!!!! This is my mommy and I love her soooo much!" THen during circle time she asked her teacher if she could give her a hug and she said yes and Maya gave her a great big bear hug. Then all the other kids stood up and mauled Miss Andi. It was so precious to watch how loving Maya is with everyone she knows.

they love her!

trying to take some cute christmas pics!

claire didnt want to cooperate!

2 yr bday party gymboree!! before we left i found claire in the bathroom and she smeared soap in her hair! such is life! didnt have time to wash her hair again!!!!